More Than That by Purpura Lipstick
Summary:

Three souls intertwined in time, two were meant to be, one- love's worst enemy.

Not new, just found a chapter was missing and fixed it.

 


Categories: Fanfiction > Backstreet Boys Characters: Nick
Genres: Romance, Suspense
Warnings: Violence
Challenges:
Series: None
Chapters: 23 Completed: Yes Word count: 19378 Read: 40198 Published: 06/17/04 Updated: 10/08/11

1. Prologue by Purpura Lipstick

2. Chapter 1 by Purpura Lipstick

3. Chapter 2 by Purpura Lipstick

4. Chapter 3 by Purpura Lipstick

5. Chapter 4 by Purpura Lipstick

6. Chapter 5 by Purpura Lipstick

7. Chapter 6 by Purpura Lipstick

8. Chapter 7 by Purpura Lipstick

9. Chapter 8 by Purpura Lipstick

10. Chapter 9 by Purpura Lipstick

11. Chapter 10 by Purpura Lipstick

12. Chapter 11 by Purpura Lipstick

13. Chapter 12 by Purpura Lipstick

14. Chapter 13 by Purpura Lipstick

15. Chapter 14 by Purpura Lipstick

16. Chapter 15 by Purpura Lipstick

17. Chapter 16 by Purpura Lipstick

18. Chapter 17 by Purpura Lipstick

19. Chapter 18 by Purpura Lipstick

20. Chapter 19 by Purpura Lipstick

21. Chapte 20 by Purpura Lipstick

22. Chapter 21 by Purpura Lipstick

23. Chapter 22 by Purpura Lipstick

Prologue by Purpura Lipstick
Waking suddenly from his nightmare, Nick wiped the sweat off his brow. This was not the first time he had had this nightmare, but he certainly hoped it would be the last. He looked at Mandy sleeping soundly next to him; he had not disturbed her sleep, for which he was thankful.
Nick got out of bed and made his way into the kitchen for a glass of water. He sat down at the table and put his head in his hands and thought about the only thing on his mind at the time, the dream. He was dressed as a peasant would be dressed in the medieval era.

It was always the same every time he dreamt it. He would be taken by the guards and dragged to the castle. Inside he would be thrown down in front of the king and queen. When he looked up he would see the king with an evil sneer on his face; the face of the queen, however, looked as helpless as he would feel.

The king would say something to him and in the direction of the queen as well, and then he would call the guards back. Nick would then be dragged to the dungeon where he would be tortured. He could feel the pain that they inflicted in the dream, the pain of a thousand lashes on his back. The first ones hurt the most, then his back numbed to the pain and he thought he could handle more. When he started to feel like the whips could no longer sting his numb back, he would be strapped down to a table, and he felt his limbs pulled from his body. It was the pain he felt from this that would rip him out of his nightmare and back to reality.

What could this dream possibly mean to him? He had to know.
Chapter 1 by Purpura Lipstick
The long car ride to Denver would be unbearable for Lorena if she didn't have her favorite CD to listen to in the car and a concert for that group at the end of her journey. She was not going to the concert in Denver; that would have been too easy and, of course, would have made sense. But her friends all lived in different states, so they found a state that was the closest to the middle and decided to meet up there for the concert. That state happened to be Ohio, and Lorena had to get to Denver or she would miss her plane.
On the plane she took her CD with her and listened to it several times. She felt so attached to the Backstreet Boys because of the friendships she had made because of them. If she hadn't 'discovered' them then she and her friends would have not had something to really bond over. Because of them and listening to their music and lusting over the guys, they had gotten to know each other better and even made new friends they wouldn't have met otherwise. It was for those reasons Lorena wouldn't stop listening to them.

She got to the hotel where she and her friends were supposed to meet and got the key to the room she was sharing with her best friend who would be coming in from New York. She threw her stuff down on the floor and flung herself down on a bed and took a well-deserved nap; the concert wasn't until tomorrow evening anyway.

When she awoke she was still alone in the room.

When was her flight? she asked herself. She turned on the television and sat there, frustrated that there was no one to talk to and really nothing to do. Maybe one of her other friends had arrived. She called down to the front desk and asked about the people that were planning to stay in the other room, as well as her roommate.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, the patrons in room 202 cancelled their reservations, and the other young woman from room 407 called and left a message saying she had to regretfully cancel."

She couldn't believe it. All of her friends weren't coming. She was alone in a strange city to go to a concert by herself with empty seats on both sides of her. Lorena grabbed her key and made her way to the dining room; not only was she hungry, she was pissed, and that was not a good combination for her.

She found a table away from the tiny crowd in the place and sat down. She ordered and got her food shortly after. Most of the small crowd were young girls, probably there to see the same concert as herself, though they were the kind of girls that annoyed her.

When she finished eating she ordered another soda and pulled out the book she kept in her purse and started to read.

Finally the crowd of girls disappeared. Probably past their bedtimes, she snickered to herself. This was when she noticed new faces enter the restaurant. She got wide-eyed and hid her face from view when she realized that the Backstreet Boys themselves had just entered.

"How unusual is that? I'm staying in the same hotel as the boys themelves," she whispered to her book as if it had ears.

"Does your book talk back?" a voice asked her.

Lorena froze, staring at her book when she heard a voice respond to her. "Um..." She looked up to be met with a pair of blue eyes and a smile. "I, uh... well... oh boy, this is embarrassing," she said, blushing terribly as she sat looking at the face of Nick Carter.
Chapter 2 by Purpura Lipstick
The security guards let the boys know that the crowd in the dining room had cleared out and only a few people remained, an old couple and a lone girl. Nick pulled on a shirt and headed down with the rest of the guys; he could go for a sandwich after their trip.
When they arrived he saw that the bodyguards weren't lying when they gave the room's inventory of people. The older couple were finishing up and the girl looked like she was just going to read until the diner closed. Nick took a closer look at the book the girl was reading; it looked like she was reading The Law of Love. He noticed her look up briefly and then look quickly back down to her book, so he advanced over to her, intrigued by her behavior.

"How unusual is that? I'm staying in the same hotel as the boys themselves," he heard her whisper to her book.

"Does your book talk back?" he asked her.

She looked up at him. "I, uh.. well... oh boy, this is embarrassing."

Nick couldn't help but smirk a bit at her. "It's all right, really. I shouldn't have been eavesdropping in the first place. Do you mind if I join you?" Nick couldn't believe what just came out of his mouth. He never approached girls in this manner.

She stared at him for a second before responding, "Yeah, sure, sit."

He took a seat across from her and watched her put her book away and take a sip of her drink.

"What's your name?" he asked her.

"My name is Lorena," she said quietly.

"You know, you don't have to be quiet; there aren't many people you could disturb in here." He noticed her smile at this, and it made him smile. He felt comfortable with her and wanted her to not feel uptight just because of who he was. He had to find a way for her to forget who he was. "My name is Nick," was the best thing he could think of at the moment. He noticed her giggle at this. "What are you doing here alone?"

He listened as she explained to him her trip and then her friends bailing at the very last minute. Her explanation seemed wordy, but Nick didn't mind; it was nice to talk with her.

"I'm sorry," she started, "I shouldn't bore you like this. I'm sure you have much more interesting conversations with other girls."

"No, no. I don't mind. I did ask you what happened. Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Do you want to have a late snack with me tomorrow after the concert?" Nick couldn't believe that just came out of his mouth. He'd just asked another girl out, a girl he just met, a girl whose name and how she was alone at the moment were the only things he really knew about her.

"I... uh... okay," was her response.

"Well, you certainly sounded confident about that answer," he quickly responded.

"No, I want to go; it is just strange to be asked out so quickly and by someone who could probably get any girl he wanted."

"Well, it's strange for me to ask a girl out so quickly, so you must be special." Nick looked up and noticed the others leaving and his bodyguard signaling him to head off. "Well, until tomorrow; shall we meet here around eleven?" He waited for her to nod her head at him, then turned and left. He had felt so welcome and left with contentment so that he didn't even notice that he didn't eat so much as a bite.
Chapter 3 by Purpura Lipstick
The security guards let the boys know that the crowd in the dining room had cleared out and only a few people remained, an old couple and a lone girl. Nick pulled on a shirt and headed down with the rest of the guys; he could go for a sandwich after their trip.
When they arrived he saw that the bodyguards weren't lying when they gave the room's inventory of people. The older couple were finishing up and the girl looked like she was just going to read until the diner closed. Nick took a closer look at the book the girl was reading; it looked like she was reading The Law of Love. He noticed her look up briefly and then look quickly back down to her book, so he advanced over to her, intrigued by her behavior.

"How unusual is that? I'm staying in the same hotel as the boys themselves," he heard her whisper to her book.

"Does your book talk back?" he asked her.

She looked up at him. "I, uh.. well... oh boy, this is embarrassing."

Nick couldn't help but smirk a bit at her. "It's all right, really. I shouldn't have been eavesdropping in the first place. Do you mind if I join you?" Nick couldn't believe what just came out of his mouth. He never approached girls in this manner.

She stared at him for a second before responding, "Yeah, sure, sit."

He took a seat across from her and watched her put her book away and take a sip of her drink.

"What's your name?" he asked her.

"My name is Lorena," she said quietly.

"You know, you don't have to be quiet; there aren't many people you could disturb in here." He noticed her smile at this, and it made him smile. He felt comfortable with her and wanted her to not feel uptight just because of who he was. He had to find a way for her to forget who he was. "My name is Nick," was the best thing he could think of at the moment. He noticed her giggle at this. "What are you doing here alone?"

He listened as she explained to him her trip and then her friends bailing at the very last minute. Her explanation seemed wordy, but Nick didn't mind; it was nice to talk with her.

"I'm sorry," she started, "I shouldn't bore you like this. I'm sure you have much more interesting conversations with other girls."

"No, no. I don't mind. I did ask you what happened. Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Do you want to have a late snack with me tomorrow after the concert?" Nick couldn't believe that just came out of his mouth. He'd just asked another girl out, a girl he just met, a girl whose name and how she was alone at the moment were the only things he really knew about her.

"I... uh... okay," was her response.

"Well, you certainly sounded confident about that answer," he quickly responded.

"No, I want to go; it is just strange to be asked out so quickly and by someone who could probably get any girl he wanted."

"Well, it's strange for me to ask a girl out so quickly, so you must be special." Nick looked up and noticed the others leaving and his bodyguard signaling him to head off. "Well, until tomorrow; shall we meet here around eleven?" He waited for her to nod her head at him, then turned and left. He had felt so welcome and left with contentment so that he didn't even notice that he didn't eat so much as a bite.
Chapter 4 by Purpura Lipstick
It was fifteen minutes past eleven o'clock, their meeting time. Nick was getting antsy; perhaps she wasn't going to show. She hadn't seemed too sure of agreeing to meeting him yesterday, and maybe she had changed her mind. He took one more look around and decided he should give up waiting and go call Mandy.
"Nick, wait," a voice called out.

Nick spun around and stood looking at Lorena as he hoped he would this evening. He smiled at her warmly. "You're late."

"I know, I know, but you don't have to fight traffic from parking lots and screaming girl fans." She paused and chuckled at what she'd said. "Well, I guess you face those."

"I'm just glad you showed up." They stood face to face for what seemed like an eternity before the awkwardness got to Nick. "Let's take a seat in one of those booths."

The hours seemed to fly by as they sat talking, but Nick could tell they were taking a toll on Lorena and himself. Lorena's eyes were drooping and she yawned several times, but tried to ignore it so that they could continue talking; he could tell that was what she was doing. Most girls he talked to or met after concerts didn't want to admit they were tired because they didn't want the night with him to end, or they were waiting for an invitation back to his room. He decided to do what he had never asked of other girls.

"Do you want to go up to my room?"

"Do you want to go up to my room?"

Nick smiled at Lorena as she blushed. It had probably taken her a lot of guts to ask him that question; he had to muster up the courage to ask that question as well.

"Let's go to your room, Lorena. Probably less distractions, and, well, the other guys probably aren't around your room either."

They got up from their seats and made their way up to her room; all the while Nick kept looking around him, checking around corners and glancing behind them. He felt like someone was watching them; he felt sure about Lorena, but he felt something warning him at the same time.

*****

It was that dream again, the dream from which he couldn't tear himself away from until the pain surged through his body.

The dream was longer this time. He was in a chamber, a decorative bedroom; the queen was lying next to him on what was probably her bed. He was holding her in his arms - she smelled nice, he could smell the woman in his dreams, or was it Lorena next to him that he could smell? He felt contentment, happiness and serenity. At this moment in the dream, he didn't think life could get any better.

He heard footsteps in the dream. Both he and the woman started hurrying to get dressed. Nick managed to pull on his pants before ducking out the window. He hated leaving the feeling that he had in that room, but there was a sense of urgency from those footsteps.

Next came the part that Nick knew all too well. His arms were sore from the grip the guards had on his arms. His eye was swollen from one of their fists colliding with his eye, and his groin was throbbing with pain from recieving a kick. The floor he was thrown down on was cold as his chin landed hard upon it. He looked up at the faces that were familiar, the king and his sneer and the queen and her eyes swollen from tears.

"Execute him," the king said while glaring in the queen's direction. Nick looked at the queen, knowing it was the last time he would see her, wanting to hold her again, wanting to make her stop crying. He knew her tears were for him; they had been careless lovers and the king had found out through a spy.

He felt his arms swell with pain as he was being dragged away from the chamber, the guards making sure to inflict as much pain as they could on him as they went. The dungeon came next; Nick knew the whips would soon follow. Feeling the contentment he felt in that room made him forget the whips hitting hard against his back, then his front. He could barely stand as he was moved to the rack, and he smiled with the first pull.

It was over, and Nick could wake. He hated the pain he felt in that dream, but was glad that it was merely a dream. It was longer and more vivid this time, only leaving him to wonder why. He looked around him; sun was streaming in from Lorena's shades and she was sleeping peacefully next to him, fully clothed. They must have fallen asleep while talking; he couldn't remember when they had stopped talking.

He sat up and put his hand through his hair; he was sweaty as usual. He took one more look at Lorena and decided there would be no harm in him using her shower while she slept.
Chapter 5 by Purpura Lipstick
Lorena awoke to the sounds of the shower running in the bathroom. She sat up and looked around. It was just a dream, she thought to herself. I'm in my room and tomorrow is the concert; what a strange dream. Amanda was in the shower, and she would tell her all about it when the water stopped running.
She sat up and turned on the television, flipping for something decent to watch. Shortly after, the water stopped running.

"Amanda, you will never guess the dream I had," she yelled. "I met Nick Carter in the dining room of this hotel because you didn't show up for the concert. Can you believe that? I mean, tell me it doesn't sound like one of those fanfictions written about him on the Internet. Like Nick Carter would approach me. It was totally cliché too. He just walked up, sat down, and asked me out, simple as that, and we talked the whole night away." She started to chuckle at her dream. "You warned me this would happen; the next thing you know I'll be writing fanfiction about him."

"That is an unusual dream. Want me to share mine with you?" a male voice came from the bathroom.

She looked towards the bathroom to see Nick standing in the doorway, wearing nothing but a towel, drying his hair. "Oh my God. It wasn't a dream? You must think I'm a complete ass for thinking..."

"Shhh... no, it's okay. I would have thought it was a dream as well; in fact, I can't believe it was real. You are the most natural girl I've ever met."

"Natural girl? Thanks, I think."

Nick sat down on the side of the bed he got up from and looked at her. "I'll be leaving soon for the next city, and I want you to come along." Shocked, Lorena just sat staring at him. "It would mean a lot to me. I love talking to you. It's nice to have a normal conversation again."

"Can't you talk to the other guys normally?"

"Yes, but after you hang out with them for a while, well, you just know what they are going to say, almost."

"I'm totally flattered that you asked me, Nick, but I can't. I have to go back to school. I have keep up with my studies so I can graduate and become a teacher."

"I just wanted to ask. I would have kicked myself if I never asked. Can I keep in contact with you, though?"

"Oh, God, yes. There is no way I would lose you as a friend now."

Nick leaned in towards Lorena. "I was kind of hoping we might be more than friends." His lips lightly brushed hers. Startled, Lorena quickly pulled away.

"Nick, I like you, but you have Mandy. I don't want you to put that in jeopardy just for a girl you met in Ohio and might never see again."

"I was hoping this wasn't our last meeting."

"Realistically, though, Nick?" Lorena couldn't believe she was being so mean to him. She loved talking to him, she loved looking in his blue eyes and not saying anything, and seeing him in a towel wasn't making what she was saying easy either.

"Well, at least give me a phone number and an e-mail so I can still talk to you. I at least want to be... friends."

They exchanged e-mail and Lorena gave Nick her phone number. She changed quickly while Nick got dressed in the bathroom. She walked him to the elevator and they hugged goodbye; she couldn't understand why she felt so sad saying good bye to him.
Chapter 6 by Purpura Lipstick
Pacing the floor in the hotel room in what Nick believed to be Indianapolis, worry crossed his mind. It had been three days since he last talked to Mandy, and he could only imagine what she was thinking.
"Mandy?" Nick asked as the other line was picked up. "Mandy, babe, it's me, Nick. How are you?"

"Nick? It's late, what possessed you to call me at this hour?"

"I was just thinking about you and what you were up to." It was partly true; if he had the guts to call Lorena up, then he would be speaking nothing but the truth.

"Nick, that's sweet of you. How are you doing?"

"Just having trouble sleeping, and I was thinking about you." He hoped she wouldn't catch him in his lie.

"Thank you so much for thinking of me and calling."

They talked on the phone for an hour before Mandy decided to end the call so she could get some sleep. Sleep still would not come to Nick. He thought that if he eased his mind about going out with Lorena, about kissing her and about thinking of having sex with her, then he could easily drift off, but it wasn't the case. Nick just laid in bed and stared at the ceiling, eventually falling into a restless sleep.

*****

Mandy couldn't help but be suspicious about Nick's phone call. There was something in his voice that told her that there was something he wasn't telling her. She wanted to join him on tour; they had been having problems lately in their relationship and she wanted to keep her eye on him. There were so many girls that would jump at the chance to be with Nick, and she wasn't sure he was capable of withholding.

She needed to stay with Nick long enough to get her career off the ground. On the second leg of this tour she would be joining him, and there was nothing he could do about it. She would be his opening act, and if all went well she wouldn't need Nick anymore. She did have a soft spot for Nick, he had been a good lay for her; if people had sexual resumés she would definitely make sure she put him on it.

There were only a few more cities on this part of the tour, then a break for Nick and then they would tour together. She would make sure that Nick was true to her for that part of the tour, or she would make his life unpleasant.

*****

Lorena was still in a daze about the whole 'Nick Carter' thing when she got back to school. She couldn't believe that it had actually happened to her. She kept expecting herself to wake up and find out that it had been all a dream. Going back to campus and joining her roommates in the routine of the day was starting to become dull to her, and she dreamt of being in that hotel room with Nick again. She dreamt of what might have happened if she wasn't such a goodie-goodie and didn't care if Nick was with Mandy.

She could see herself letting Nick kiss her instead of pulling away when her lips barely met his. His towel would have been so easy to remove, but, no, she couldn't think about that. What had been done had been done, and there was nothing to change that. She had blown the chance she had to do what millions of girls dreamt about, and he had wanted her just as much. Lorena shook her head and tried to focus back into her math lesson; what did any of it matter anyway? She would probably never hear from Nick again.
Chapter 7 by Purpura Lipstick
Lorena had been wrong when she thought she would never hear from Nick again. She heard from him almost daily in e-mails and the first phone call she recieved from him startled her.
"Lorena, the phone is for you, some guy."

"Kay, I'm coming." She got up from her computer and walked to the living room where her roommate was watching TRL. "Hello?"

"Lorena? Is this really you?" the male voice asked.

"Yes, may I ask who is calling?"

"Did you forget me already? It's Nick."

"Nick! Oh my god, I didn't expect to hear your voice again, this is definitely a surprise."

Getting an annoyed look from her roommate got Lorena to quiet down and move to another part of the room so that they could speak about what had been going on with them. She told Nick everything she thought he could possibly want to know that had been going on in her life lately, that is, all but the dreams she had been having about him.

Last night, she had had another dream like the one she had after that first night she met Nick. Nick hadn't really been in this dream, but Lorena had felt the same emotion towards the blonde girl in her dream that she had felt towards Nickolas in her first dream.

They ended their phone call on a happy note; Nick was giving Lorena a couple of tickets to a show out east and they were going to meet up again. She couldn't wait, and when she went back to her room to work on her homework she couldn't concentrate, but let her mind flow back to the dream she had started to remember on the phone.

She and her blonde friend were living together; they were best friends, they were more than friends. Everything they did they did for each other: they were in love. Lorena shook her head in disbelieving manner; she was in love with another woman in her dream. What did that mean for her now?

There was an angry mob that was pulling her lover away from her; she then realized she was being dragged away too. Piles of twigs and a pole were ahead of her, and there were people gathered around holding torches. Lorena had watched as she and her friend were tied to the poles. A man stepped forward, but the man was not who Lorena couldn't stop glaring at; the woman next to the man had her attention. This woman was trying to look as innocent as she possibly could as the man next to her started to read from a black book, a Bible, Lorena thought.

Lorena watched as the men with the torches moved in towards her, but she turned her head quickly to look toward her friend instead. The blonde girl was looking at her as well; tears started to stream down her face while she watched the flames grow around her. She felt the fire grow around her as well, and with a deafening scream Lorena could remember shouting out the name "Nicole", and that was where she had awoke.

Lorena looked around her bedroom through hazy eyes; this dream had obviously gotten the best of her, like the one she had with Nick in it earlier. She hated being so emotional; tears came way too easily to Lorena, or so she thought. Her friends had always thought of her as a hardass, someone who didn't cry unless it was unavoidable. She got up from her bed, which she had thrown herself on when she got back in her room, and sat at her desk.

Maybe sitting will help me concentrate on the subject at hand, she thought to herself. It was times like these that she wished she knew more people around campus and could get out and do something; she wanted to leave her room, and she wanted desperately to forget the feelings she had felt in her dream.

*****

The time had finally arrived for Mandy to join Nick and the rest of the guys on tour. She couldn't wait to get out there and perform, to show all those little girls that she was more talented than Nick and the rest of the boys combined. She had begun her packing process two days ago and was still in the process of deciding exactly what she wanted to take. It wasn't so much what she would be seen on stage in - those were already decided for her anyway - it was more want she wanted to be seen in on Nick's arm. The way she looked with Nick would be very important to her, as this was how the girls would see them, and she had to portray that she and Nick were perfect for each other.

Mandy laid out her different outfits one more time and gave a final nod of approval; she finally had gotten the right combination of clothing together. Her task at hand now was the accessories that she needed to go with them.

She decided on her earrings for all her outfits at the same time the phone rang. "Hello, this is Mandy," she answered.

"Hey, babe, what have you been up to?" the voice on the other line, Nick, asked.

"Nick, hon, I was in the middle of packing. Is there something you wanted to discuss with me that was totally important?"

"I was just wondering and hoping that you would want to go grab a bite to eat, this being our last night not on tour and stuff, ya know."

"Not tonight, I'm not hungry nor in the mood to see you scarf down your food. I'll see you tomorrow when we leave. Love ya." Not waiting for an answer, she simply hung up the phone. She cringed as she thought of watching him stuff a hamburger in his mouth. Food was not something she wanted to see go in his mouth at the moment. She would love to be with Nick, but she wanted to be what Nick was eating, not the hamburger.

She sighed, knowing that Nick and her doing anything she wanted to do wouldn't be happening for a while, since his mind seemed to always be elsewhere. Mandy turned back to her task at hand, what necklace to wear with her outfits, and soon let the call from Nick drift out of her mind. This tour was going to launch her career and she had to have everything perfect, she thought as she placed a gold chain with her first outfit.
Chapter 8 by Purpura Lipstick
His girl was cheating on him with the local speakeasy owner. He didn't like what he was hearing and he was going to put a stop to what was going on. He'd warned the guy that if he didn't leave his dame alone there would be serious trouble. Sucking his teeth clean with his tongue and glancing around the joint, he knew he had to not only mess his place up, but he had to mess him up as well.
Anthony looked around at the broken bottles and overturned tables. Where could they be hiding? he thought to himself. With one step, Anthony was in a different part of this place; it was a room, a backroom. A desk in the middle of the room was the only thing he could see. He smirked as he turned to his boys and nodded at them. Anthony walked out to the bar and poured himself some whiskey and listened to the sound the gunfire go off in the office.

After drinking down the bootleg liquor that he himself had provided, he made an appearance back in the office. The bloodstained desk told him he had found his mark; that was all he needed. "Teach you to mess with me," was all he said as he left the premises a few minutes before the cops arrived.

*****

Nick tried hard not to let his excitement show while he sat with Mandy before she was about to go on stage. After the show, if all went well, Mandy would be having a girls' night with LeighAnne and he would be holding Lorena close. Nick didn't want to sneak behind Mandy's back with another girl, but he feared what would happen if he were to tell her that he wanted out of the relationship. They had been together for so long he often wondered if he would feel right without her by his side.

He thought of that morning after he had met Lorena. It was a common thought to him after he awoke in the middle of the night, many times after having his nightmare. The nightmare was something that Nick wanted to write her about often, but the paper always ended up crumpled in a wastebasket or burning in a fire. How was he supposed to start a letter like that?

'I've been having nightmares where you are the queen I'm having an affair with before I'm torturted to death.'

Not exactly the way he wanted to sound in his letters to Lorena. He had decided, however, that he needed to tell someone, and Lorena was going to be the person to tell. He was sure Mandy wouldn't take the dreams very lightly, considering another girl was in them. Nick could see her laughing it off and telling him that it was nothing, and then making sure that she spent more time with him than she did already. No, Lorena would be the person to tell. If anything was meant to happen between them, then she would be understanding towards him and his nightmare.

"Five minutes, Miss Ford," a roadie popped in to announce.

"Nick, give me a good luck kiss. I'm in New York performing, I can't believe it."

"You're on your way, babe," Nick said as he leaned in and gave her a kiss for good luck. "You're gonna do great."

Nick stayed in her dressing room for at least five extra minutes to make sure that she was onstage before he went back to his dressing area. He walked over to his coat pocket and grabbed a stack of papers tied together. He pulled one out of the bunch and began to read:

...then the professor told me that I had to do it all over again so that it made more sense to him. I can't believe he did that, he just ripped it up in front of the whole class. What I wouldn't give to be out of school and teaching already, or, better yet, to be with you wherever you are. Nick, tell me in your next letter that we will get to see each other again, tell me that you are single and we can be together.

He tied the letter back with the rest of them and shoved them back in his pocket. Nick hadn't been able to tell her he was single in his next letter, because he wasn't. He put his head in his hands and wondered why he couldn't tell her what she wanted to hear. Why was he still with Mandy, was it familiarity? He wanted Lorena, but couldn't break it off with Mandy. Mandy was in it for the long run, he told himself. She's been with you since it started and she'll be with you, but Lorena is a gamble; she could just be trying to get at you because you are famous. That was the reasoning he told himself when he started thinking about it, but he was starting to wonder if his reasoning was still holding up.

"Nick, you need to get ready," a voice from behind him said.

He turned around quickly and saw Brian with LeighAnne behind him. "Yeah, I guess I do." He watched his friends walk off together hand in hand, whispering to each other. He and Mandy never did that.

*****

Lorena felt guilty watching Mandy on stage. Nothing major had happened between her and Nick, yet she felt like she was the girl he was cheating with. She was fine with what she was doing until she sat looking at 'the girlfriend'; now the guilt was starting in. She watched painfully as she considered not meeting Nick after the show.

She was starting to feel like she really had made out with Nick that morning in her hotel room. What was she doing? She was sitting in an audience, preparing to meet with a guy from the group so that he could cheat on his girlfriend. She was not brought up this way, to think this way, to want to do something like this. Why then, if she was not brought up to be like this, did she want to meet him so badly? Why did she want to break this girl's heart so that hers could feel more complete?

Lorena slouched in her seat as she waited for Mandy to finish performing and the boys to make their appearance onstage.
Chapter 9 by Purpura Lipstick
Nick couldn't help but pace in the lounge while he awaited Lorena's arrival. His palms were sticky with persperation about their meeting. LeighAnne had taken Mandy out for a girls' night and a celebration of Mandy's first performance in New York, but Nick was starting to worry that if Lorena took any longer to arrive, their visit would be cut drastically short.
The pacing and the sweating finally got to him, and Nick decided that he needed something to drink or he might pass out waiting for her. The coffee bar was deserted when he arrived, and he recieved his glass of water quickly. Drinking down the water, Nick turned to face the lobby of the hotel.

She's not coming, he started to think. Why isn't she here yet? Did she leave without saying goodbye? Could she get away from the crowds? Are the bodyguards harassing her? Taking his glass of water and consumed by his thoughts, he sat at a table with a view of the hotel door where he could see the mobs of girls, but they could not see him.

For some reason or another he felt compelled to look towards the back door of the coffee shop, the one that seemed out of sight. He gasped as he saw Lorena walking towards him.

*****

All's fair in love and war, she kept telling herself as she stood outside the staff entrance of the hotel. He can't be that serious about her if he wants to meet with you and writes to you about love.

Lorena kept trying to make a move towards the door that Nick had advised her to use. Every time she thought about him wanting to meet her, that there had to be something there if he wanted to see her again, she would start towards the door. Two seconds later she would change her mind and decide that she didn't want to be 'the other girl'.

Finally she got the nerve and opened the door and walked in. Knowing that now there was no turning back, she headed towards the lounge, hoping that her anti-perspirant would hold up. She never made it to the lobby; she spotted Nick in the coffee shop getting a drink of water. Standing at the back entrance to the shop, she stood watching Nick look toward the other direction. Something inside of her knew then that she had made the right decision and she decided to stop making him wait any longer.

Lorena only took a couple of steps before Nick turned around and spotted her. She saw him take in a sharp breath, and she smiled back at him.
Chapter 10 by Purpura Lipstick
Nick stood up as Lorena got closer to him and the table. "I thought you were never going to arrive," he managed to say.
"I'm sorry, I had some thoughts I had to wrestle with before I came to see you."

Nick nodded in understanding; it couldn't be easy for Lorena to pursue this relationship either, especially since he hadn't called it quits with Mandy yet. "Do you wanna go somewhere we can be alone to talk?"

Lorena started to tense up a bit. That was all she needed, to be alone with Nick; he was someone she wanted desperately to have something happen with, but deep down she knew nothing should be happening between them. How do you say no to someone you've been thinking about for the last few months? She nodded her head slowly in response and took the lead to the elevators.

When the elevator doors closed and they started their ascent, Nick took hold of Lorena's hand and both could tell each other's apprehension. Walking hand in hand, they left the elevator and approached a door. "Is this your room?" Lorena asked Nick.

"No, I got this one specially for us. No one else has a key, no one should be wondering where I am, and no one knows that you are here," Nick lied. It wasn't a complete lie; LeighAnne and Brian were the only ones that knew she was there, but he could sense Lorena ease up with his reassurances.

Casually, Nick walked in the room and plopped down on the loveseat. Lorena was more cautious to enter and, not wanting to make Nick think she was nervous, sat down next to him. She sat facing forward, staring at the blank television screen, waiting for Nick to make a move of some kind.

As fast as he could, Nick blurted out what he had to say next. "Lorena, there is something I want to share with you. I've wanted to share this with you many times, but it didn't seem like the right kind of thing to address in a letter. Now that we are together again, I feel like I should tell you." Confused, Lorena just turned to face Nick. "I... you... I... this is going to sound so weird, but I've been having dreams about you."

Unsure about just how to respond to that, "What kind of dreams?" was all Lorena could think of to ask.

"Well," Nick paused to rub the back of his neck. "Well, we are lovers, you are a queen, and your king orders my death upon finding out about your indiscretions." Turning, he faced Lorena's unpreturbed face. "You aren't shocked? Scared? Wanting to leave now?"

Lorena just sat looking at her hands for a few moments. "How can I be shocked when I've been having strange dreams with you in them as well?"

*****

Something inside of her told her that she needed to go back to the hotel as soon as she possibly could. LeighAnne was sitting across from her, rambling on about something that Mandy had a hard time paying any attention to. She continuously glanced towards the door, trying to hint to LeighAnne that she wanted to leave soon. Mandy could not believe that she could just talk on like she was; she was not paying any attention the 'guest of honor'.

"LeighAnne, I hate to interrupt your story, but I'm not feeling well suddenly. Can we go back to the hotel?" Mandy finally got the courage to ask.

LeighAnne looked at Mandy and wondered if she really was sick or if Mandy knew that Nick was up to something and this dinner was really a plot to keep her away. "Sure, girl, last thing I want is for you to get sick while on tour," she lied.

The two girls threw some money on the table and left the restaurant. Mandy hailed a cab and quickly got in and told the driver what hotel to drive to. She had a feeling in her gut about Nick and she hoped that it was wrong, but she trusted her gut, it was rarely wrong.

They arrived at the hotel promptly, and Mandy made her way to the room that she and Nick were sharing. She unlocked it slowly and revealed to herself what she already had known: Nick was not in their room. There was not much she could do, unless she wanted to tear through the hotel like a madwoman. Some of Nick's fans probably expected to read some story about her doing this, but Mandy decided to wait in the room; he would show up sooner or later. He, after all, had to get his stuff before they left for the next city.

*****

Nick and Lorena laid in each other's arms. They had just spent a good two hours talking about their dreams with each other. They both agreed that the dreams were because they missed each other very much and mainfested that into their dreams. Nick did not really want to tell Lorena that his dream was reccurring and that he'd been having it since before they met, and Lorena did not want to tell Nick of the powerful emotions her dreams evoked in her.

Nick knew he had to get back to his room soon; he could only have a few hours with Lorena and he knew that. He wanted to hold her like he did in his dreams. He pulled her closer to him and thought about how he was going to say goodbye yet again to this woman that he felt so connected to.

"I have to get going," he finally decided to tell her.

"Already?"

"I know it seems like we just got in here, but it's been over two hours and I need to be getting back before Mandy gets in."

"Are you going to keep in touch?"

"I promise I will."

Lorena then asked a question that had been on her mind since she walked in the door earlier that evening. "Are you ever going to leave Mandy?"

Nick looked Lorena straight in her eyes and said with all honesty, "Yes."

She was so happy to hear this that she moved closer to him, kissing him deeply. Nick responded by kissing her with the same passion. They were soon locked in an embrace, using their lips to tell each other their desire for the other.

They remained that way for a few more minutes before the realization hit Nick that he had to leave to go meet Mandy. What he had to think of now was how to end it with Mandy.

He left the room Lorena was in and slowly, very slowly, made his way back to the room he was sharing with Mandy.
Chapter 11 by Purpura Lipstick
Very carefully, Nick opened the door the room that he was sharing with Mandy. He hoped that he had beaten her back to the room, or that she was tired enough to fall asleep. His eyes fell upon Mandy sitting on her bed flipping casually through the television channels.
"Hey, babe, how was your night out with LeighAnne?" Nick asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"I felt a little ill, so we came home early. Where were you just now?" she couldn't help but ask as soon as possible.

Trying to think quickly, he answered, "I was with Brian."

Narrowing her eyes ever so slightly, she continued to question Nick. "What did you two decide to do?"

"We were watching T.V. in his room. I think I'm gonna take a shower now."

Nick walked into the bathroom and shed his clothes, hopping into the shower quickly. The hot water felt good running down his skin. He had to think of some way to break up with Mandy, but with a tour with her looming ahead of him still, now may not be the best of times to go through with it. He had just finished lathering up his hair when he heard the bathroom door open. Sticking his head under the showerhead, he cleaned the soap off his head.

"Need any help in there?" Mandy asked as she opened the curtain. Smirking, she eyed Nick up and down. "I would certainly love to help you in any way that I can," she said with an innocent tone to her voice and batting her eyelashes.

Before Nick could say anything, Mandy was in the shower with him and she was doing things to him that she knew he liked to have done.

*****

Lorena sat in the room that she and Nick were just in together in a daze. Her mind was refusing to believe that she just kissed Nick. Instead her mind tried to play off the occurrence like it was a dream. She sat on the bed, forcing herself to remember the kiss so that it would stay fresh in her mind. Soon she laid down on the bed and rested her eyes, smiling at the pleasant feeling she had at that moment.

Soon her daydreams were filled with flashes of different kisses mingled in with her memories of her recent kiss. She thought nothing of the memories, except that she wasn't really herself in many of them. Her face showed that of confusion as images of distant places flashed in her head, but her kiss felt the same in all her daydreams. One of them captivated her the most, and she tried to focus in on that one the most.

Lorena could only make out that it was the same scenario that one of her dreams took place in, the mid-1800's scenario. She was sitting in a gazebo with a young blond boy sitting on the bench next to her. They were both young, couldn't have been more then thirteen or fourteen. The boy had his hand holding hers tightly, and slowly he moved towards her. The kiss he placed on her lips was soft and sweet, the way a first kiss should be. She reopened her eyes to look at the face of the boy that she had just shared her first kiss with, and smiled.

Looking at his face, she saw him go from a smile to a look of almost pure terror. He had spotted something that terrified him. Lorena, curious, turned around to see what he was looking at. Her gaze fell upon a girl with a look of pure anger on her face. The other girl turned and stormed off, obviously upset at the scene she had just witnessed.

Lorena tried to focus on the face of the girl, replaying the moment she turned around and saw her face over and over again. After a while she was able to make out that the face of the girl who had just been angered was the same face that she remembered seeing in her dream she'd had when she recieved the news of a young Nickolas's death.

A bit startled at this new dream, she longed to learn what it could mean. Dreams are passageways to know more about yourself, and Lorena wanted to learn why she kept dreaming about being in love and then losing it almost as soon as she realized she had it.

She got up quickly and left the room she was sharing with Nick and made her way back to her hotel room. She unlocked her room door quickly and made her way to her suitcase. She always had her dream book with her since the dreams had started, and she wanted to look up what the possible meanings of this dream could be. She rummaged through her suitcase and couldn't find the dream book. Frustrated, Lorena threw her clothes down on her bed. Falling from the pile in her hand was another book, not the one she was looking for, but the one that she had just finished reading. Why did I bring this one? Lorena questioned herself as she stood looking at the book The Law of Love.

*****

Dry desert heat warmed the back of his neck as he watched the activity of the city from his terrace. There was a brief commotion in the marketplace, but he need not pay any attention to that, the local guards would tend to it. He was watching for a certain person, a rival in work, society and love. He only had to wait a few more minutes before he saw the man he was waiting for. Leaving the place he was standing and making his way down the stairs, the man hoped he could catch up the the man he had been watching for.

It did not take him long to reach the man since his stride was so much more powerful. Knocking the man out had been an easy task; it was not as easy, however to drag the body into a empty warehouse. While the man was still out cold, the observer took to beating the man, kicking him and making the blood spew from his mouth. With every hit and kick, the man felt more and more power surge through his body. The man laying on the ground soon was breathing shallow breaths. "Hunh," was the only sound the attacker made as he left him to die and went off in search of his prize, the new widow.
Chapter 12 by Purpura Lipstick
Lorena had spent most of the night re-reading the book The Law of Love. There had to be some reason she had packed that book instead of her dream book. After finishing chapter seven, Lorena put the book down and started to think. How could she be so blind to not see it? She couldn't believe it had taken her that long to think that her dreams could mean something else. Instead of normal dreams, they very well could be past-life memories.
With a burst of sudden energy, she jumped up off her bed and started to pack; after all, she still had to go home that day. She wanted to try and catch Nick before he left for the next concert venue to tell him what she thought the dreams could be. Pulling her long hair back in a ponytail, she pulled a new shirt out of her newly-packed suitcase and made her way out the door, luggage in hand.

*****

Pulling Nick's naked body closer to her, Mandy felt secure in her position as his girlfriend. No one could do to Nick what she could, and she knew it. She could feel Nick start to wake up, and she wanted to shower before he got in the bathroom. Giving Nick a soft slap on his ass, she headed to the shower.

*****

Lorena sat in the lobby with her book hiding her face, watching the crowds walk by, hoping to catch Nick before he left. It didn't take long for her to recognize him coming off the elevator. Before thinking, she bolted from her chair and caught up to him quickly.

"Nick, about our dreams with each other in them. They may be more than that, they could be past-life memories." The words flew from her mouth.

Nick stood gasping at Lorena and what she just said. He couldn't believe she just ran up to him in the lobby of the hotel and blurted out that he was having dreams about her, especially since Mandy had just stepped off the elevator and he could feel her icy glare on his back.

He watched as Lorena and Mandy stood looking at each other the way women do when they know they are competing for one guy. "Nick, would you like to explain the meaning of this twit's comment?" Mandy finally said.

"Twit? Oh, I'll show you what this twit is capable of," Lorena shouted back. She made a move towards Mandy, but Nick stepped between them. Turning to face Mandy, Nick prayed Lorena could forgive him for what he was going to do.

"Mandy, she's just a fan having obsessive delusions about me. You know how some of these people get. It's best to just ignore her and leave it at that."

Not believing her ears, Lorena could only stand there as Nick and Mandy walked away. When they reached the door, Nick looked back to see Lorena standing, frozen in the spot he left her, shocked at his words. He tried to give her a pleading look, but was met with eyes full of tears.

*****

Rubbing his eyes as he awoke, A.J. tried not to think about his dream from the previous night. Dreams like that he tried to promptly forget, because they were confusing and he didn't like to think about something as confusing as a dream anyway.

The tour was moving on today, and A.J. still had to pack. He took one look at his bags and sighed. Packing would be easier if he didn't insist upon making a mess when he got into his hotel rooms. He picked up a shirt crumpled on the floor and wiped the back of his neck with it; for some reason he felt very sticky on the back of his neck. Must have had something to do with his dream.

He threw his shirt in his suitcase and quickly packed everything else away. Looking down at himself, he noticed that he was not wearing anything that would be suitable to face fans in. He re-opened his suitcase and pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Finding his hat and sunglasses on the dresser, he threw those on as well and made his way to the buses.

Before climbing aboard the bus, A.J. spied Nick and Mandy walking out of the hotel hand in hand. A.J. sneered at the scene, then got aboard the bus and slumped in a seat to continue napping.
Chapter 13 by Purpura Lipstick
Brian was at a loss as to what to tell his friend to do. Nick did keep Mandy from attacking Lorena, but he had promised Lorena he would break up with Mandy. How could Brian comfort his friend? The only thing he could think to tell him was that it would work out for the best in the long run.
He was glad Nick had found something to take up time, though; he had been reading books on reincarnation lately. Brian laughed to himself at the thought of living previous lives, but if it was keeping Nick occupied, he was glad.

"Nick, man, how long are you going to read about that stuff?" he asked.

"Until I find answers," he said, turning away from Brian to let him know that he didn't want to be disturbed anymore. Ever since that day in the hotel he had not had any contact with Lorena. He sent e-mails and he called, but she did not want to talk to him, and her roommate said she didn't want anything to do with him. He knew his comment about her would hurt extremely, but he didn't mean it, couldn't she understand that? He did it to save her from Mandy's wrath, but if he could take it back he would at any minute.

The last comment Lorena made to him intrigued him, and he was going to research past lives to find out if that is truly what his reccurring dream could be. In his heart it made perfect sense. The pain of the dream, the dream getting longer after meeting Lorena and the feelings he felt towards her and the queen. His mind, however, told him that it was impossible for him to have lived a past life, let alone many of them. This was his only life, and he had to deal with what was going on, but he could not stop following his heart.

His mind wandered back to the time they shared at the hotel, the stories they told each other, the bonding they had done. This was a girl he wanted to spend more time with. Then there was her kiss. It was so sweet and unexpected and so full of desire, not like his kisses with Mandy, which had become something he expected. That's just because Lorena is a different girl and her kisses are new to you. Kissing her was also dangerous, so there was an added amount of excitement, he told himself.

Focusing back on the book in his hand, Nick continued to read. "Your past lives will show themselves through your dreams. Your dreams will accurately portray events and emotions from your past lives, and will give you insights into the memory and information about why the memory is surfacing in your present life." Finally Nick had found something in this book that would help him to explain what has been going on. He continued to read while A.J. sat on his side of the bus, curiously watching Nick read about reincarnation.

*****

She wanted nothing to do with Nick anymore, not after what he said. The idea of having many lives with this man, who seemed to not want to even be with her in this life, was ludicrous. How could she even think that that indeed was the case between Nick and herself?

He filled her e-mail box daily with apology letters, saying that he only said what he had said for her protection. Bullshit, she thought to herself. If he really wanted to be with me, he would have broken it off with Mandy the same night that they had talked. He never wanted me. He was only fascinated with someone new. Lorena was fine with never talking to Nick again. She had been naive to think that some famous guy would want to actually be with her for more then just a fling.

For once Lorena's roommate had been kind, and when she asked to tell anyone named Nick that she wasn't there, she happily complied. Deep down, her roomie probably only did so to keep the phone line free for herself, but whatever the reasons, she was happy for them.

Her schoolwork was improving again since she spent much of her time in the library instead of in her room writing to Nick. She was packing her books into her backpack to head over to the library at the same time she recieved a phone call.

"Lorena, it's some girl. Not a guy's voice, so I figured it was safe to say that you were here."

Lorena took the phone from her roomie with a curious face and put the phone to her ear. "Hello?" she asked.

"So, is this the girl from the hotel lobby?" the voice on the other end asked.

"What hotel would you be referring to?"

"The one in New York. The one where you were seen talking to Nick in the lobby."

"I was there, yes, who is this?" Lorena asked, suddenly frightened at the prospect that Mandy found her number.

"Good, I wasn't sure this was your number. Lorena, this is LeighAnne, will you please talk to me?"

"What do you want? Do you want to try and convince me that Nick didn't mean what he said? That everything will work out in the end? I know he didn't mean what he said when he said he wanted to be with me and that he would break up with Mandy. What are you calling for? What do you want to try to convince me of?" Lorena had to contain herself from yelling her response in the phone.

Taken aback by Lorena's reponse, LeighAnne calmly answered her back. "I don't know the situation between you two. I'm not calling to convince you of anything, but to hear Nick out. Let him explain why he did what he did. Meet with him, face to face, and then you can decide. That is all I wanted to tell you."

"I can't believe he has his friends' girlfriends calling me now. Who else is he going to send to talk to me? Should I expect a call from Tyk soon?" she asked sarcastically.

"Nick doesn't know I'm calling you, that's why I wasn't sure if this was your number or not."

Not being able to control them anymore, Lorena let the tears fall. "I have to go. Please don't call anymore, I don't want to handle anymore of these emotions he seems to be able to put me through. You had good intentions, but they didn't help, I still want nothing to do with him." Without waiting for a response, Lorena hung up on LeighAnne.

Wiping her eyes before her roommate came back in the room, she hung the phone back up and continued to pack her books into her bag. Quickly she made her way to the library and found a secluded spot where she would be safe if she couldn't contain her tears any longer.
Chapter 14 by Purpura Lipstick
She was at the pool filling up her goatskin bags with water for her father. It wasn't her favorite part of the day, but it gave her time to spend by the water. She savored her time by the water; she liked it best when she and her father could go out on his boat and sail down the Nile to Thebes.
A slight breeze started and she closed her eyes and let the coolness surround her. When she opened her eyes again, there were shadows over her. She looked up to see two men sitting on horseback looking down at her and smiling at her. Fear was the first emotion to strike her: these men were here to cause problems for her. The men climbed down from the horses and sat next to the water; using their hands as cups, they drank in the coolness.

She just sat and watched the men converse with each other. From their clothes they were military, and they seemed to only want to drink the water and not cause her any troubles. Eventually the men rose from their spots and walked over to where she was sitting along the bank.

"Excuse me, miss, but my colleague and I were just discussing your beauty," the light-haired one said.

She smiled and bowed her head in gratitude for their compliment. The men got back on their horses and began to ride away. The dark-haired one turned back and winked at her before riding off. Something about this man's wink made her feel uneasy.

It was later, later day, later time. She was back at the riverbank; this time she was sitting on a rock under a tree. Both of the men she had met at the riverbank before were now making visits to her at this spot on a regular basis. Both were fairly attractive, and they were both kind and sincere. She knew it was only a matter of time before one of them would approach her father about marriage.

Today she was meeting Anthony. Though she enjoyed her time with him, he wasn't as great a companion as his friend, the light-haired one that had made the compliment about her beauty the first time they met.

"There you are," she said as she saw Anthony arrive. "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show at all."

"And miss out on your company and beauty?"

They sat talking for several hours, until it was time to make her way back to her house to prepare the evening meal for her father. "It was a pleasure talking with you, Anthony," she said as she stood to make her exit.

"As always, the pleasure was all mine." Standing as he responded, he took her hand and kissed it, looking at her longingly. Slowly, he moved in towards her to kiss her. She shrugged away, not feeling comfortable with his face close to hers in that manner.

"I think I should be going." She pulled her hand from his and walked back to her house, where she was surprised and overjoyed to see her father sitting with the man that she liked more out of the two.

"Daughter, you will be pleased to hear that you are to marry this fine man. He has asked for my acceptance and I have given him that. You are to be wed; tonight you shall sleep under the same roof and tomorrow you will be announced man and wife."

That night they shared a passion and desire for each other that they knew was evident when they would talk. When the sun came up over the mountains to the west, she was already awake, watching her new husband sleep soundly. She watched as his eyes fluttered awake and met her face with a smile. "Are you ready to celebrate?" she asked.

"That's not what we did last night?" he asked, laughing as he leaned over to kiss his wife.

The morning sun flooded in their room as they got dressed to meet with family and friends today to celebrate their marriage. Relatives had gathered early and were in the middle of making a feast when the lovers joined them in the kitchen. Smiles greeted them and objections were flung when the young couple asked if they could be of any help.

The day was filled with happiness for the newlyweds as they were presented with presents of furniture for their house and many different items for protection and worship.

Dawn fell and the celebration was still going strong. Everyone's stomachs were full from the feast and many were drunk, even though the beer they drank was weak. No one could predict that there would be trouble in that same evening. He came charging in on the crowd, obviously angered.

"How DARE you!" he screamed, pointing to the couple.

Frightened, she hid her face behind her husband; she could not bear to look at the man that stood before them.

"She was to be mine. You," he continued to yell, pointing at the new husband, "you have stolen my job, my rank in society and now the woman who was to be my wife. You will pay deeply for this! She will be mine one day, and then forever, you can count on that!" With his last words stinging in everyones ears, he made his exit. Confused, the people gathered in celebration could only wonder what to do, and eventually left the two to wonder alone.

"Would he really do anything like that?" she asked.

Sadly, he responded, "It would not be a surprise to me. We must be cautious; it would be wise to move to the Upper Egypt. Under the dark of the night we shall move. He thought he was in love with you, but he only wanted the power and advancements that your family could get him. I, on the other hand, love you more than that and will never let him have you."

Quietly they packed up the belongings they could fit on their donkeys and made their way to a new life, unknowing that they were indeed followed.

Breathing heavily, Nick awoke from his dream.
Chapter 15 by Purpura Lipstick
Finals week had finally arrived and was in full swing. Lorena couldn't wait to be done with her freshman year of college. She needed to get away from her roommate and the pressures of college. The thing she wanted the most to get away from was her memories of Nick and their time together, but they flooded into her mind with every free moment.
Memories of their last night together surfaced when she least needed them to, when she was about to go to sleep. She would run scenarios through her head about what more could have happened that night and how Nick could have made everything all right at the elevator. She would imagine that things had gone okay and that they were still together. When she thought that she would finally get to sleep, she would run the memory through her mind once more and sleep would never come.

Lorena had to find a way to get some sleep or her finals would become more difficult than she needed them to be. Standing up in the dark room, she sought out her roommate's sleeping pills. Carefully opening the bottle, she managed to squirm a few out. Throwing back her head, she easily swallowed the pills and found her way back to the bed that awaited her.

*****

Ever since he had read that damn book Discovering Your Past Lives, his nights and some of his days had been flooded with memories of his past lives. He laughed at himself as he remembered doubting past lives could even exist. Now he knew the truth; the biggest challenge to him now was getting Lorena back in his life. He grabbed his suitcase he had packed the night before and left for the airport. He, after all, had a very early flight to catch.

*****

She was stirring a pot full of something that smelled delicious. Nicole had gone into town to get the final ingredients for the potion they had been working on earlier. Daylight was beginning to fade fast and she dreaded Nicole being out that late, ever since...

There was a knock on the door. Putting down her spoon, she advanced towards the door to open it. There was a squeaking noise as the door opened. A bit startled, she was taken aback at the face she stood looking at...

"LORENA!" The yell of the voice pulled her from her dream and her first night of sleep in a long time.

Groggy and tired, Lorena yelled back, "What!?"

"You have a visitor, and it's not polite to keep people waiting," her roommate said to her. Adding quietly as she went to the door, "You'll never guess who's 'popped' in for a visit."

Wiping the sleep out of her eyes, she advanced towards the door, grousing about the way she was woken up. Pure shock was apparent on her face when she laid her eyes on the person standing in the doorway.

Standing in the doorway with one dozen blue roses and a pleading look on his face was Nick. "Please hear me out."

"You said I was nothing more then an obsessive, delusional fan."

"Don't you understand? Mandy was right there. She was threatening you. I could never live with myself if you had gotten injured; I wouldn't be able to know I caused you pain."

"You've caused me plenty of pain. Weren't you supposed to break up with Mandy?" She started to close the door, but Nick caught it and pushed it open all the way.

"Lorena, what you said about past-life memories is true. I've been having more of them and more vivid ones lately. You have to try to accept my apology because I love you and I know I always have loved you, in this life and the last. Will you please let me talk to you?"

Uncertain in her mind what to do, she opened the door and let Nick enter her room. She walked further into the room and sat on her bed and motioned for Nick to take a seat on her desk chair.

Taking a deep breath, Nick started in. "I felt it was pointless to break up with her before the tour was over. We would be seeing each other daily for a few months and... and, well I was selfish for thinking of only my comfort for the rest of the tour. I read books on past lives, and read more books. What you told me I couldn't get out of my mind. You were right, you know. I already said, that didn't I? I ended it, though, after the tour was over. We are now apart; you can read it on many of the fansites out there now. Headlines across the web, 'Nick and Mandy have broken up'." Starting to get uneasy because of the lack of response on Lorena's part, he chuckled.

Yawning and rubbing her eyes once more, Lorena finally decided to speak. "Nick, it hurt. What you said hurt me terribly. I could have handled myself with Mandy, but what you said about me hurt. I expected myself to kick you to the curb if I ever saw you again. In fact, I told myself that if you ever showed up I would do just that."

"Lorena, I'm so..."

"I'm not done, Nick. Seeing you made me remember how it felt to be with you, and I knew I couldn't really get rid of you, and if I did I would run after you. After hearing you say the words, I knew I felt them too. I can't be mad at you anymore for what you said or did; I forgive you, and I love you too. Now will you leave me alone?" she asked him. His face showed a hurt he never thought he could feel. She was rejecting him anyway. She went on. "I have a shower to get to and finals to take; then we can talk more."

Standing up, she grabbed her towel from its spot hanging on the end of her bed and stopped in front of Nick. Leaning over, she whispered, "I'll be right back," and she kissed him.
Chapter 16 by Purpura Lipstick
They walked hand in hand around campus, smiling at quite a few strange looks they were getting. Finding a table shaded by a tree, they sat down to talk.
"So you still had dreams about me even though I hated you?" Lorena asked.

"They are more than dreams, they are memories. I know this now after reading several books and then examining my life. I had several memories come forth after reading those books and opening myself to them. I think my first life memory became prevailent as well."

"Your first life? How long have you been around?"

"We have been around since ancient Eygpt." He watched as Lorena's face showed surprise.

"We?"

"As totally outrageous as this is going to sound, we were together in our first lives. You were male and I was female. We were married; then a man, outraged by our marriage, vowed that I would be his one day."

"This is totally weird. Are you kidding around with me?"

"I am being serious, Lorena," he said, looking deeply into her eyes.

They talked for several more hours about the different memories that Nick was remembering, comparing them to the dreams that Lorena remembered having. Neither one of them could put a face to the people in their memories that had caused them pain. Usually he was male and only a few times was she female, but what sex would that person be in this life? There had been lives that Nick and Lorena had been happy together, but they were short memories, and the ones that stuck out in his mind the most were the ones where danger found the two lovers.

"Nick, I started to have another memory while I was asleep this morning before you arrived. It was the life where we were witches and burned. The first time I remembered that dream there were a man and a woman apparent when we were being burned." She paused as memories of flesh burning flashed through her mind. "I only focused on the other woman the first time, so I assume that the other soul was her, but this morning, in my memory, the man was standing at my door."

"Do you know who he is, at least? What significance could he have to our lives?"

"I don't know, I was rudely yelled at to wake up this morning."

"We have to find out who that third person is; I fear our lives may be in danger now that we are together." Slipping his arm around Lorena's waist, he put her head on his shoulder and they sat like that watching the sun go down over the mountains.

*****

The time was close to make a move. The lovers had reunited; there was certainty in that. A ticket to her home state was seen on his dresser, and he had left early this morning. Something inside snapped, and what had to be done was soon apparent. The lovers must not be allowed to live, and Nick would belong to who he was supposed to belong to once more.

Chapter Seventeen
Chapter 17 by Purpura Lipstick
Lorena could hardly believe what her life had been like the last few months; it all seemed like it never happened. She was sure that any minute the phone would ring and she would be brought back to reality, that she was simply absorbed in some story written on the Internet. When the phone did ring, however, it was Nick calling just to talk.
Before this past year, Lorena had been on a plane twice, but now it seemed just about every other week she was on a plane flying down south to visit Nick. It was a wonder that she was able to hold on to her job and still make some decent money to take the many trips she took. When she didn't fly to see him, Nick would show up in Colorado and spend a few days with her.

Despite their worries, nothing had happened to either of them. They were happy, and it was starting to worry Lorena. Why were those memories so persistent in their minds if they were meant to spend this life together blissfully? Each day that passed and nothing happened to either of them, the more worried Lorena got. All her friends told her she was being extremely pessimistic about the situation, but they didn't know the whole story; she never told them about the memories.

Wringing her hands together, she shouted at the person knocking on her door to come in.

"Lorena, are you here? I meant to get here sooner, but there was a traffic jam."

"It's all right, I'm in the living room," she yelled at her guest.

"So what are you up to?" her friend Karin asked as she plopped down on the couch.

"Nothing much, just thinking about life," was her reply.

"Are you gonna tell me about that guy that has been making you so sickly happy lately?"

Before she could answer, the front door flew open and then slammed shut. They heard sounds of someone quickly running to the room they were in. Lorena froze and sat staring at the entrance to the living room.

"I'm here!!" a girl shouted as she pretended to jump on Karin on the couch.

"LINDSEY! Shit, girl, you scared the shit out of me," Lorena yelled as she threw a pillow at the new arrival.

"What'd I miss? Huh? Tell me."

"Nothing, Karin just asked me what was up."

"So you didn't reveal anything about your boytoy?"

The three girls sat talking for hours about what was going on in their lives and who Karin and Lindsey were dating.

"Hey, Lorena's avoiding what we want to know," Karin finally brought up. "We want to know about her guy, and all she's doing is talking about us."

Looking away from her friends, she could feel her cheeks become bright red.

"Oh, we embawassed our widdle fwend," Lindsey said, getting up off the couch and sitting in full view of Lorena. "C'mon, you know that's why we came over today. I wanna know, tell me!"

Sitting in closer to Lorena, Karin joined in with the pestering. "You know you want to tell us."

Chuckling, Lorena decided to finally tell her friends. "Yes, I have a guy, but you knew that. You wouldn't believe me if I told you who I was dating, so it doesn't matter."

"Yeah, um, okay, who are you dating? Heath Ledger? Hugh Jackman? Nick Carter?" Karin looked at Lindsey and both of them started laughing.

Not joining in their laughter, Lorena coughed to get her friends' attention. "Actually, it is Nick Carter."

Both her friends just sat staring at her. "Bullshit," Karin and Lindsey yelled at the same time.

"I told you, you wouldn't believe me. Can we talk about something else?"

*****

A.J. couldn't stop the nagging feeling that he had been feeling the last couple of months. He felt there was something he had to be doing, but couldn't quite figure out what it was. Ever since that dream he'd been feeling quite strange; he wanted to talk to the other guys about it, but was sure they would treat him differently.

He had to confront Nick; he had something to do with how he was feeling, A.J. was certain of it. Nick, who had been reading that book on past lives, who he had overheard on the phone talking with Lorena about memories of past lives. Nick knew something that was going on, and if Nick didn't know, he would get it out of Lorena. She had to know; she was in his dream.

*****

Stretching after a full night's sleep, Nick woke up smiling. He had dreamt of Lorena, and it was a memory from this life and not a previous one, so it had ended happily.

He was still smiling when he got in the shower; humming to himself, he knew he would enjoy calling Lorena that afternoon. He quickly jumped out of the shower when he had finished and toweled himself off. Grabbing at his pants as he tried to dry his other leg proved difficult when he ended up losing his balance and landing on the floor. He was still rubbing his leg when a knock at the door came.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I need to talk to you," a familiar voice said.

"Can you give me a minute to finish getting dressed? I should be done in a few."

"Sure," the voice on the other side answered.

Nick found a clean shirt and tossed it over his head. He started to wonder what this person could want to talk about at this time in the day. It wasn't early, but they liked to sleep and it was before noon.

"Okay, I'm ready to talk," he said, throwing open the door to be met with a sack over his head and something hard meeting with his head a few seconds later.
Chapter 18 by Purpura Lipstick
Checking her watch and seeing the time, Lorena went back to watching the television and picking at her fingernails. Why hasn't he called? she wondered. He said he would call.
Her friends had abandoned her earlier then she had hoped, but they both had things to do around town and promised they would be back a little later to see if she would tell them the 'real' name of the guy she was dating.

The waiting was starting to get to her and she decided that if he didn't call within the next few minutes she would go online and talk to some of her other friends that she had been neglecting lately. Sighing, she looked at her watch again, then checked the clock on the wall to make sure her watch was correct. Not being able to take it anymore, she flicked the television set off and made her way to the computer. The computer wasn't on yet, so she turned it on and went into the kitchen to get herself something to drink while she was online.

Sitting down on the chair and cracking her knuckles, she prepared to type in her password when the phone rang. Jumping out of her seat from fright, she grabbed at the phone. "Hello? About time you called."

"This is not who you were expecting, I'm sure," the voice on the other end answered. Lorena strained to make out the voice, but it had been disguised somehow.

"Who... is... this?" she asked cautiously.

"Someone who wants to meet you very much."

"Listen, bub, I'm gonna call the cops on you if you don't hang up and leave me alone." Even though she was on the phone, she looked around herself and around the apartment, hoping this person wasn't anywhere around her.

"You call the cops and your precious boyfriend will not live to see me apprehended."

Stunned, Lorena was at a lack of words. Her boyfriend? Was this person for real? "If you have him, what is his name?" she couldn't help but ask, thinking still that this was merely a prank caller.

"You stupid bitch! You know very well I mean business! But just to put your little mind at ease, his name is Nickolas Carter and he is sitting right here waiting for you to join him."

"How do I know he really is there?"

"Nick, say hello to Lorena..." The voice trailed off and another came on the phone.

"Lorena... I... lov..." The phone must have been yanked away from him because she didn't get to hear the rest of what he had said.

She tried to fight back her tears so that whoever was playing with her mind wouldn't be able to hear the weakness in her voice as she spoke.

"There is your proof, little girl."

"What do I have to do to make you release him?"

"Check your mail; you have a plane ticket, go to the destination. You'll recieve further directions when you get there." The phone went dead.

Putting her head in her hands, she finally let the tears start to fall from her eyes. This was it, the third person in all their past lives was making themselves evident. If only she knew who it was, she would call the police to wherever she was headed and arrange for them to help her in some way, but the person had disguised their voice for that purpose. It clicked suddenly. If they had to disguise their voice, it's someone I must know.

Running to her mailbox, she threw it open to see an envelope addressed to her in plain black block letters. She held it in her hands and could only look at it, wondering where she had to fly to save Nick and eventually herself from this person. Solemnly, she walked back inside where she slowly opened the envelope. She pulled out the ticket and a piece of paper fell to the floor. Before she looked at where she was going, she picked up the paper, curious as to what it could say.

She collapsed to the floor and started to cry even harder when she realized she was looking at a picture of Nick blindfolded and tied to a chair, a scrape on his forehead with dried blood caked to it.

*****

She had packed only a few things so she wouldn't look too suspicious at the airport. After pulling herself together she had torn up the picture and thrown it away. Now she was trying to appear calm as she awaited the call to board her plane. She was flying into Florida, so Nick wasn't taken far when he was kidnapped, and maybe it meant the person was from Florida as well.

Trying to place a face to the third person in her dream had taken up most of her waiting time, and soon she heard a voice announcing the boarding of her plane. Pushing ahead of many people, she upset her fellow passengers as she made her way onto the plane first and took her seat, getting as comfortable as she could. Watching the others climb aboard the plane was torture to Lorena, and she willed the people to hurry up so the plane could take off sooner.

The last passenger had boarded, and Lorena could only wait for the plane to fly to Florida. Leaning her head against the side of the plane, her eyes felt heavy and she was soon asleep.
Chapter 19 by Purpura Lipstick
The pot was boiling and the heat of the kitchen was getting to be almost too much for her. Again she was rushing, always rushing. Summer solstice was approaching and there was to be a huge celebration; she was in charge of planning it. Her partner, Nicole, was sent out earlier to get some of the final ingredients she needed to make her award-winning stew and the potion that they started earlier. The sun was fading and she feared for Nicole, being out late. A knock came crashing down on the front door, and she jumped with fright. The knock would not be that of Nicole, since she knocked tenderly.
She wiped her brow with the edge of her apron and made her way to the door. "Who is it?" she asked.

"Someone who wants to help," the voice replied.

She opened the door and stood face to face with a man, a man she never thought she would hear say the words 'I want to help'. She stood staring at the minister of a local church. "And you are the enemy, how can you help us?"

"I know that you and Nicole are going to be brought up for trial soon; my wife is the accuser. Your charges are witchcraft."

"We are full aware that we are going to be charged with witchcraft. Again; I ask how you intend to help us?" Hoping that he would give herself and Nicole a way out of what awaited them, she listened for the minister to give his answer.

Unsure of what happened exactly, the next thing Lorena remembered was being pulled from her house by this man and dragged into a jail where she was told Nicole would join her shortly.

Her memory flashed ahead through the trial and then to the execution day; she remembered this part and wished she could tear herself away, but something inside made her continue on with the memory. They were accused of being witches, and the minister's wife made sure that no one would object to their deaths that were to happen the same afternoon. They were to be burned for their crimes.

Lorena and Nicole held onto each other as long as they could until they were torn apart and tied to their seperate poles. The people were lighting the twigs with their torches. Lorena looked out past the flames and set her eyes on the minister and his wife. Glaring at the both of them now, she strained her eyes to try and see who she was up against in this life. She watched long enough to see the minister was almost afraid of his wife, then came the screams from Nicole and her own searing flesh pain jolting her back awake.

The person sitting next to her was looking at her in a strange way, afraid to ask if his fellow passenger was all right. The seatbelt light was off, so she made her way to the bathroom and was able to splash some cold water on her face. She stood in the airplane's bathroom for a few minutes and thought about her dream, the faces, and what that meant for this life. There had to be some reason that memory surfaced now.

Suddenly it hit her who the faces in her dream were, and she knew now what she had to do to defeat this person who caused Nick and herself so much pain.

*****

"Well, your little girlfriend should be off the plane by now. Let's see if I make the phone call if she's there to recieve it." The kidnapper picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hello?" Lorena's quiet voice answered.

"Ah, yes, there you are. Are you ready for your next direction?" the disguised voice asked.

"Mandy, cut the bullshit, I know it's you," Lorena firmly stated.

"Perceptive, aren't you? However did you figure it out?" Mandy asked, now taking away what she had used to disguise her voice.

"How I figured it out doesn't matter; you won't get away with it."

"Call the police and I will kill Nick now. Don't think I won't know if you do call them either. Are you ready for your next direction? That is, if you aren't afraid to face me."

"Oh, you don't scare me. Where are you?"

Mandy gave directions to Lorena as to where she could be found. She didn't, however, tell her what traps and devices would be waitng for her when she got there.

Afraid to make any more phone calls, Lorena hailed a cab and gave the directions to where she needed to be, finding out only when she got there that it was an abandoned warehouse.
Chapte 20 by Purpura Lipstick
Cautiously, she stepped out of the cab and paid the driver. The place that she was at was a dump. Wood piles blocked alleyways, the windows on the first five floors were boarded up; the sixth floor still had its windows, though they had been busted. Squinting in the sun, she looked up and tried to see into the windows that were still there. Not seeing anything, she waited until the cab drove off before she even thought about heading inside. She was scared that if Mandy was watching she would think the cab driver was possibly a cop and kill Nick.
Rocks crumbled underneath her footsteps as she took a deep breath and entered the warehouse. The inside of the warehouse was more run-down than the outside, as impossible that it had seemed. Lorena wondered how she was going to make it up to different floors as she found the stairs in a pile on the floor in front of her. She stepped forward and crouched down to look at the mess on the floor, thinking it was hopeless. That's when she felt a quick breeze go by her back.

"Oh, God," she said out loud. "Please let that be a breeze through the walls." Quietly she prayed. Laying down as flat as she could in the fallen stairs, she rolled over and saw what really had caused the breeze; a two-by-four was swinging back from having passed her the first time. As quick as she could, she turned her head in the direction the plank had originated from to see if she could see if there was anyone who had released it at her.

She managed to duck out of the way of the swinging board and found a way that she could make it up to the second floor. A ladder was leaning up against a wall with a hole above it. How did she manage to get Nick up this ladder? she asked herself as she slowly climbed up the ladder, fully aware now about traps that might be set for her around this run-down building.

*****

Stalking around the outside of the building, A.J. watched Lorena enter, but kept his distance as to not be seen. He had to be cautious, still unsure what was going to happen.

She had entered the building, and he moved in closer to watch what she was going to do and where she was going to go. He would simply follow her; she would be the target, so it would be easy for him to slip in.

*****

By the time she reached the fifth floor, Lorena was tired and scratched up. She had one more floor to go, but needed a break; the floor had broken beneath her a couple of times and she had to reclimb to the floor she was on again. Sitting down on a pile of wood, she thought of how she was going to handle Mandy when she got to the next floor, where she was convinced she still needed to get to. Her mouth was dry, and she wished she had a cup of water to make her throat feel more at ease, but water was not going to suddenly appear for her to drink.

Is he even worth this? she thought. You love him and he loves you, but to risk your life for his, is it worth it? The voice in her head telling her that would not stop no matter how hard she tried to push the thoughts away. "NO!" she said out loud. "I would save anyone I loved, whether my life was in jeopardy or not." With a new determination, she stood up, brushed herself off and looked around trying to find the way she was supposed to get up the her destination.

It didn't take her long to spot a perfectly intact staircase that looked like it had been rebuilt and repainted just for this occasion. Carefully she stepped up the stairs, aware that anything could happen when she reached the top.

*****

After watching her fall several times and recieve many injuries, A.J. was shocked that she had made it as far as she had. He thought that after the second fall, Lorena would give up and turn back and try to find a way to get the authorities involved. He could see the determination in her face as she went back up to the fifth floor. This girl really loves Nick, he thought. Keeping himself well hidden from Lorena, he continued to follow her to the fifth floor.

NO!" he heard her say. "I would save anyone I loved, whether my life was in jeopardy or not." He looked around carefully to see if she was talking to anyone, but he saw no one, so he only assumed that she was convincing herself that she needed to continue on. He forced his smile away while she got up and found the stairs to keep going.

He too continued on and stood at the foot of the stairs and awaited the time for him to make his entrance.
Chapter 21 by Purpura Lipstick
Author's Notes:

Not really new, but I just found out this chapter was missing.

    Recieving a kick to her face as she reached the top step, Lorena almost fell backwards down the stairs again. Somehow she managed to stay standing and keep her balance. Ducking quickly, she avoided the next punch aimed at her. She was not trained how to fight.  The only fighting she had ever done before was against her brothers when they were playing, but her brothers weren't fighting full-strength.

      Running quickly up the rest of the stairs, she turned back around to face Mandy. "Can't face me? What, are you afraid of me?" she asked as she prepared herself to fight.

      "You really think that you are going to beat me?" Mandy asked. "Why don't you just leave and let me have Nick? He and I were meant to be together, that is all there is to it. He doesn't want you anymore; I've treated him right while you were getting here. See, I'll fuck him and he likes that, so you see, he'll stay with me because I give him what he wants. If you leave now, I'll spare your life."

      "Why, if you wanted me simply out of the picture, did you go to all that trouble to get me out here?"

      "Perceptive; I called you that already, didn't I? See, if you are still alive, there is no way Nick will want to come back to me heart and soul. Part of him will always be with you. As I see it, you stole my man, my fame with his fans, and could possibly get my record deal. You are going to have to die."

      "Okay, I took your man, but I don't want the other two things, really, you can have those. I have no desire to sing."

      "Whether you have the desire or not, you have set the ball in motion, and I am going to stop you before you can get to far ahead."

      Saying those words, Mandy stopped talking and moved towards Lorena moving in to punch her. Somehow Lorena avoided getting hit, but managed to bring down her elbow on Mandy's back. Countering, Mandy grabbed Lorena's legs around the knees and knocked her over into a pile of drywall.  Making sure Lorena couldn't get up very quickly, Mandy jumped up and started to kick her anywhere her foot would hit.

      Feeling each blow to her body, Lorena didn't know how she was going to get out of this. How was she going to find the strength to fight now? She had just made her way all the way to the sixth floor and was out of breath, but Mandy just sat and waited for her to arrive. Shielding her face, she was close to giving up. She looked around the warehouse, getting in a good look at the place that was going to be the last place she was going to see.  The blows on her body were hurting more now and covered more area than a foot. Mandy had picked up a board and was hitting her with that instead.

      Her eyes were swollen from crying, but she continue to look around the room. That's when she saw him. He was sitting there tied up, mouth taped shut but no blindfold. There was a sadness in his eyes that she didn't want to see. His eyes were pleading her to get up and do something. Battered, bruised and with failing strength, Lorena rolled out of the way of the board.

      "Afraid you can't take me without the use of a weapon or without having to keep me down?" she spat at Mandy.

      "I could take you easily. Look at yourself, you're already halfway to the point I need you at." Mandy threw the board down and walked close to where Lorena had been standing. Quickly wiping her eyes, Lorena swung at Mandy and missed. "HA! And you think that you are going to beat me?"

      Bringing her foot around after missing Mandy, she knocked her flat on her back. Working fast, Lorena threw all her weight in one step down onto Mandy's stomach. While she was keeled over in pain from the kick, Lorena grabbed her hair and pulled her back to a standing position. Still holding her hair, Lorena punched Mandy in the stomach where she was still in pain from her earlier blow.  

      Through the pain, Mandy reached around and grabbed Lorena's hair in an attempt to pull her off of herself, but it only brought Lorena's foot sweeping back against hers and knocking them both over.  Stunned, both girls got back to their feet and stared at each other. Both girls were injured now; blood dripped from both of their mouths and Lorena had a trickle falling from her head.

      Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Mandy began to talk again. "Killing you is going to be fun. This is the first time you've put up a fight." Seeing Lorena's stunned face, she went on. "Oh, yes, I know about our past lives together. I had it figured out before I met Nick. I knew that it was my destiny to be with him, and I will do anything to get him back with me.  I've kept you apart in every other life that we've all been in; what makes you think this life will be any different?" Using some move she had been saving up for, Mandy kicked Lorena backwards.

      Trying to keep her balance was tricky for Lorena with all the piles of junk on the floor around her, but she managed to stay standing. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted another figure moving in towards Nick. Noticing who it was, she smiled and charged at Mandy, knowing she had to keep her away from Nick.  With all her might she knocked herself into Mandy. Before she could stop herself, they were both falling down the flight of stairs to the lower level.

      The fall injured both girls even more than they were before, but Lorena had been luckier. She had landed on Mandy, so she was able to stand back up, and she stood hovering over Mandy, awaiting her nemesis to open her eyes.

      With pain surging through her body, Mandy awoke. "What? Where am I?" It took her only a few minutes to remember where she was and what was going on, but she could do nothing about it; the fall had broken her leg. "I guess you've won. Are you going to kill me now?" she asked after mustering up enough courage to not let any tears fall with the realization that she had lost.

      "And bring myself to your level? Never!"

Chapter 22 by Purpura Lipstick
She yawned as she woke up in a bed. Quickly she bolted into a sitting position, wondering where she was now and what was going to happen to her. The last thing she remembered was telling Mandy she wasn't going to kill her, then it went dark. Where was Nick? What had happened to him? Where did Mandy get taken to? What was going on? Where was she? There were so many questions that she had, and oh how she hurt. Breathing was even difficult for her.
Giving up the fight to sit up, Lorena fell back down on the bed and lay awake, wondering what happened after she passed out. The room she was in was plain, white everywere; was this a hospital room? No, it had too many things in the room, and there was no smell that a hospital room usually carried. There was nothing else for her to do but lay there and stare at the ceiling. Pain continued to surge through her body, but she was happy for it, because that meant she was alive.

Flashes of her memory came back to her, and she remembered the shadowy figure that was approaching Nick as she made her final attack on Mandy. What if he wasn't there to help? No, he had to be, if he wasn't you would be dead by now. The thoughts rushed her brain, making her all the more tired.

Closing her eyes to try and get more rest, she caught the door beginning to open. She couldn't believe it, Mandy was walking through the door and laughing at her. "It's not over." Her eyes snapped open as Mandy approached her and started to hit her as she lay helpless in the bed. "NO!" was all she managed to scream out.

"Lorena. Lorena, wake up... wake up, you are dreaming," a soft voice was saying.

Blinking awake, she smiled as she saw Nick's face. "Nick."

"How are you doing?" he asked. "I love you so much." A tear traced his cheek before her hand reached up to wipe it away.

"I love you too."

*****

There had been too much internal bleeding to help her, but the doctors did all they could to make her live. They had spent hours on the operating table fixing the organs that were badly damaged. It was of no use; she died three hours after her arrival.

Calling the time of the death, the head doctor pulled the sheet over the corpse. "I suppose we should be calling her family?" the doctor asked the nurses in the room with him. "What was her name?"

"Mandy Willaford, doctor."

*****

It had been a few years since that wonderful yet horrible time in their lives. They had moved on together, making each other happy. They were both completely recovered and had forgotten that someone out there had hated them so much they had wanted them dead.

Curious as to why and how A.J. had known where the three had been, they had asked him shortly after Lorena being released from the hospital.

"I'd been having dreams. I helped Mandy kill two people in a past life. She had approached me and convinced me it was my destiny to help her kill the two again. I found out she meant you two. I helped her kidnap Nick and drag him up to the sixth floor. Then something happened. As I watched for Lorena, I had another dream surface. It was clear in that one that I had wanted to help you, but I couldn't stand up for myself. I decided to help you at that point. Lorena was handling herself pretty well with Mandy, so I helped Nick, then we both carried the two of you out of the building after you passed out."

Smiling down at Lorena, Nick couldn't help but kiss the woman he loved, the one he was meant to love. "Gotta go, babe, the show isn't going to wait for me." He ran off onto the stage and Lorena listened as she heard him sing their favorite song "More Than That".

*****

"It's a girl!" the doctors exclaimed.

"Oh, honey, it's a girl," the ecstatic husband said, looking down at his wife. "She's beautiful, just like you."

The woman smiled at her husband, happy that their dream of a child had finally come true.

"So, what are the proud parents going to name this lucky child?"

The couple looked at each other and smiled.

"Amanda," they said together.
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